Celtic Connections, Glasgow’s annual folk festival, comes at the perfect time of the year. At this point in January most people are fed up with the few hours of daylight the winter offers and the underwhelming amount of sunshine, which is why the festival serves as the perfect distraction.
At one of Glasgow’s most iconic live music venues, the Barrowland Ballroom, over 1,900 people gathered for a massive party on Friday 27th, fuelled by Tom McGuire & The Brassholes. The eight-piece funk-soul band truly set the place on fire, playing to a sold-out room, the band’s biggest headline show to date.
The first support act of the evening was Bohemian Monk Machine. The six-piece funk rock band from Perth started the concert with a bang, and a surprising introduction from front-man Gordon Mill. The singer opened the set with the words “We are Bohemian Monk Machine” with his voice so low that I was sure it was an effect, especially once he started to sing and his voice sounded completely different. Mill however made use of his funky voice talent multiple times throughout their set, proving that it was in fact his real voice. For anyone intrigued, I recommend listening to the band’s single ‘Monk Magic’ to hear for yourselves. There was not much convincing needed for the crowd to start dancing along to the music. Bohemian Monk Machine was a great choice for a support act, keeping in tune with the night’s brass theme.
Second support of the night was Cara Rose. I recognised the Glasgow-based jazz singer instantly due to her signature red beret which is a regular feature in her Instagram posts. Starting off her set completely solo on stage, only accompanied by the piano, showcased her impressive vocal range and unique voice colour.
Following the previous set with a much quieter performance resulted in the crowd taking a few minutes to adjust its volume and stop chatting. By the time Cara’s band joined her on stage for the second song, the singer had managed to grab the audience’s attention with most people swaying along to the music.
Catchy melodies, talented musicians and Cara’s charming character made for a great performance and the band finished their set with her 2020-released single ‘This Nights Man’. Although I will definitely buy a ticket for the singer’s upcoming headlining gig on April 1 at Saint Luke’s, her much calmer set in between two high-energy bands felt like a slightly weird pick.
As Tom McGuire & The Brassholes are hugely popular in Glasgow, my expectations were very high for their performance and the band managed to exceed those with ease, leaving me with a night to remember.
The band’s brass quartet, formed by Liam Shortall (trombone), Mateusz Sobieski (saxophone), Michael Butcher (saxophone) and Joshua Elcock (trumpet), stepped on stage first alongside special guest Harry Weir (saxophone), followed by the backing singers Katie, Emilie, and Caris. The three women started singing the vocals to ‘D.R.E.A.D’ building up the suspense until the crowd welcomed Micah Johnston (drums), Luca Pisanu (bass), Moss Taylor (keyboard) and frontman Tom McGuire (vocals / guitar) with thundering applause.
Glasgow’s king of funk is an absolute machine and managed to belt out lyrics for over 90 minutes without losing a single shred of his energy for even a second, all while playing guitar and working the crowd. The atmosphere was not only impeccable down on the ballroom floor, with fans knowing the words to most songs, but all band members seemed to have the time of their lives, pouring their love for music into every single note.
The band had a few surprises in store throughout the night. To the audience’s astonishment, four people appeared on stage in black cloaks just as the intro to the next song was played which, for the most attentive listeners, was in fact the intro to Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood’. After a few beats the intro went smoothly over into the brass band’s 2022-released single ‘Rise Up’. Also making an appearance were two guys in pink and green neon shorts, who started wrestling on stage much to the crowd’s amusement. McGuire managed to hide a second easter egg in one of their songs, sneaking in a verse from Neil Young’s ‘Old Man’.
Towards the end of the night, eight more people walked on stage, all familiar faces from Glasgow’s vibrant music scene, forming the chorus for the next song ‘Better’. The last official song of the night was the yet-to-be-released song ‘Stay Rad’.
Naturally, the band returned to the stage for an encore, and what an encore it was. The first song was the newly released single ‘Unshakable’, followed by ‘Do You Still’. For the grand finale the two sax players, Sobieski and Butcher, came down into the audience to play and two inflatable pizza slices were chucked into the audience on which Tom McGuire and Moss Taylor surfed the crowed while singing ‘Infinity’.
I am still searching for words to describe the night and the only word that keeps popping into my head is rad, which may or may not be Tom McGuire’s favourite word. It was an absolute treat to be able to see such a talented bunch of people all in one night at the Barrowland Ballroom.